Nummer 4/2006 (.pdf) - FOD Sociale Zekerheid

ABSTRACTS
dingscomponent als om jobopportunitieiten waarvoor bij ons onvoldoende werkwilligheid
bestaat. Wel zouden best de hier geldende sociale voorwaarden als uitgangspunt
dienen voor de tewerkstelling van personen uit de nieuwe lidstaten. Ook
verdere vrijmaking van de dienstenmarkten verdient de nodige aandacht.
“Does European integration lead to social dumping?”
by Filip Abraham
The expansion of the European Union to 25 member states, and in the (near) future
possibly to 28 and even more, unites social-economic schemes, which are quite different
from one another as regards income levels and social protection. The income
and wage differences between East and West – even in the most advanced new
member states such as the Czech Republic and Hungary the wage cost is still up to
80% lower than ours – are large enough to significantly influence the immigration
flows of employees and corporate manufacturing and investment decisions. Like
communicating vessels, the schemes that have been united within the European
Union are now growing towards one another as a result of the integration process.
This social convergence is brought about by several integration mechanisms, specifically
the growing international trade of goods and services, foreign investments by
companies and the migration of employees. Whether this social convergence movement
will effectively lead to social dumping depends on which adjustment mechanism
gains the upper hand. This analysis shows that integration through international
trade and horizontal corporate mobility (companies with activities here and
there) are to be preferred as an adjustment mechanism to vertical corporate mobility
(outright relocation of activities) and the mobility of employees. This analysis also
pleads in favour of an active recruitment of employees from the new member states
for staffing the so-called occupations in demand in our economy. This includes
vacancies for employees with a high level of education as well as job opportunities
for which we are unable to find candidates who are willing to take this job in Belgium.
We do recommend that the social conditions applicable in Belgium are used
as a starting point for the employment of persons from the new EU Member States.
The further liberalisation of the services markets should also receive the necessary
attention.
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